Confidence

I just got back from the Moab training camp. I had high hopes for the trip, and I came away extremely satisfied. Moab kicked ass, even though I only brought a road bike. This week comes after a rest week and my fitness has made a HUGE jump. I feel extremely confident in my biking ability after a few hard rides in Moab, and my running is coming along very well. In the few brick runs I did I felt natural, smooth, and steady. I also completed the longest run I have done in about 2 years. It was a 1.5 hr trail run on Amasa Back Trail. It rained the entire run, the trail was slick, but the fog made for some dramatic scenery. I felt great, my legs were springy and I was enjoying the sights. My IT bands are rock solid and I don't have any issues there at all. I should be over the fact, but I always keep an eye on them since I had IT band trouble for such a long time.

The main thing I took away from the training camp is confidence. I'm really really fit and I haven't even peaked yet.


Speeding through Arches National Park


Running on Amasa Back Trail


Who says you need full suspension to ride on the slickrock?



Having fun in the Fiery Furnace.


Our campsite.

Rest Week = Free Energy

I'm in the middle of the last rest week before Collegiate Nationals. I only have one more training cycle to go through before I peak...exciting! Because I'm not working out as much this week I find that I am a lot more anxious, excitable, distractable, and bouncy. No really, I bounce a lot more during rest week. It's surprising to see what I act like when I don't get my daily dose of exercise in. Quite regularly, every time a rest week rolls around my house mates are complaining about how annoying I am. Today I took advantage of the backyard tree rope (not so much of a swing) and went at it for a while until my hands started hurting from abrasion on the rope.

This Friday I head out to Moab, Utah for a training camp with my coach. I look forward to the change of scenery and complete immersion in triathlon training. It will help me get back into the groove for the final 3 weeks before Nationals.


I love the tree rope.


It's inevitable for any triathlete or cyclist...the first burn of the season left me with an impressive start to my tanlines.

Whew! I'm Tired

My 3 week build cycle is over. Today was the last day of hard workouts and now I have two easy days coming up before I start a full recovery week. In the water today I was hitting between 1:01 and 1:03 on the 5x100 at LT, and I felt great during the LT bike workout. I've put in a lot of time and effort, now it's time for me to recover. I'm sure I'll be seeing the benefits in the near future! I really need the rest. My body was starting to complain.

It's really too bad that I have to train in such an ugly part of the country. Damn mountain air...

Those 800s off the bike were pretty tough.

From Now On, I'm Walking Down That Hill

I almost got plowed by a bus 10 minutes ago. I apologize to my family and friends, I'll be more careful from now on.

Every day, at least twice a day, I ride about 100m in the bike lane against traffic to get to my house. No big deal, cars stay to my right, I stay left, everyone goes about their business. Same deal today, I'm going down the hill in the bike lane, against traffic, and I see the public bus is rolling up the hill at about 30mph. The bus takes up every inch of it's lane, which leaves me about 3 feet of the bike lane to myself. No problem, but I move all the way over just to give the bus some space as it passes me going up the hill. Just as the bus is about to pass me I come on to a pothole, one that I see every day coming and going to my house, and I have to move out about a foot to the right to get around it. As I'm going around the pothole, my front wheel slips on the sloping edge of the pothole and my bike falls out from under, sending me hurtling over the handlebars headfirst out towards traffic with perfect timing to make my face connect with the bus headlights. Somehow I managed to ditch my bike, land on my feet and keep myself out of the bus' path...I still have no clue how I did it. I came within 6 inches of getting squashed by the 209 RTD bus.

Some kid riding his bike on the sidewalk stopped as the whole thing happened. I ended up right next to him, standing on my feet, in one piece. I had to restrain myself from hugging him, but I still didn't stop myself from giving him a squeeze on the shoulder and letting him know that I was "OK". I walked myself and my bike the remaining 20m home with nothing but a little mud and a raspberry on my calf from my front tire.

From now on I think I'll walk the last 100m to my house on the sidewalk.


This is the pothole, and there is the 209 RTD bus that runs by my house.

21 Years of a Rockstar

I turned 21 yesterday. It's been a good 21 years, let me tell you. I had a great day full of food, naps, bike rides, more food, cookies, sunshine, and beer. I still don't like beer. I was hoping my taste buds would transform overnight once I turned 21, but alas. At least I won't be blowing money at the bars.

I kicked off the birthday celebration with an early morning bike TT. 28km of rolling hills, a little over 200m of climbing total. My time was about a minute slower than I had hoped, and about 3 minutes slower than what I know I can do when I'm in top form. I'm not terribly concerned about being a little slow on the bike right now. It is by far my strong point in triathlon and I'll be able to regain my bike fitness within a few weeks. This winter I spent a lot of time skate skiing when the weather was too bad to ride outside. My base fitness is all there, I just need some neurological re-wiring in my "bike muscles". The fact that yesterday was my third consecutive day of threshold training could have also impacted my result.

Progress Report

Good things are starting to happen.

1. The brick track workout this past Tuesday was stellar. I hit all target times and my HR was in check. This time last year my "run" workouts were confined to aqua jogging, rollerblading or the elliptical machine due to IT band issues. Now I can run for an hour and not even think about my IT band.

2. My swim today proved that I am faster than I ever have been in the water. The main set was 20x100, and I used it to dial in the rhythm for "race pace". I was hitting 1:08 consistently, it was clockwork. My percieved effort increased over the last five or six 100s which is normal for a long hard set, but my splits were coming down at the same time. I dropped one second off each of the last four 100s and felt great the whole time.

3. I had to abort a TT attempt on the bike last Saturday due to "soft tissue issues", which was dissapointing and annoying at the same time. I was riding way up on the nose of the saddle which caused too much pressure concentrated in one spot...lesson learned. I'm going to re-do the TT tomorrow morning. Based on how the TT was going before I had to stop, I am optomistic about finishing in a good time around the TT course tomorrow.

All the hard work is starting to pay off!